Display structure with removable indicia-bearing inserts



W. C. GRUENEBERG ETAL DISPLAY STRUCTURE WITH REMOVABLE July 27, 1948.

INDICIA-BEARING INSERTS Flled Sept 23, 1944 erg Rb mm 6 m m5 6 W W M 14. E M/lara G: Gruencb Patented July 27, 1948 DISPLAY STRUCTURE WITHREMOVABLE INDICIA-BEARING INSERTS William C. Grueneberg and Willard G.

Grueneberg, Cincinnati, Ohio Application September 23, 1944, Serial No.555,500

10 Claims.

such as might be used for displaying a list of names, legends, orindicia, in an orderly and attractive fashion. The display structure isadaptable for indoor or outdoor use, as desired.

An object of the invention is to provide means in a display structure ofthe character stated, whereby the constituent parts are designed forflexibility of use in erecting displays of indeterminate length andwidth, and in which the parts are so locked or keyed in position as toaiford maximum protection against vandalism or other forms ofdestructive effort.

Another object is to provide a display structure of the class referredto, which is weatherproof as well as foolproof, and which may beexpanded or extended to accommodate indiciabearing inserts in variousnumbers, without mutilating or alterin the constituent parts of thestructure.

Another object is to facilitate and expedite an exchange or addition ofindicia-bearing inserts, in a display structure of the type wherein theinserts are normally keyed or locked in place.

A further object is to provide a device of the class described embodyingvarious desirable advantages in addition to those previously mentioned,for example durability, simplicity, flexibility of purpose, and thelike.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means describedherein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which: a Fig. 1is a perspective view of a typical display structure embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is an'enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental perspective view showing a section of a base railfor the inserts.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective view showing a section of cappingrail for the inserts.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental perspective view showing a section of an insertguide element.

Fig. 6 is a fragmental perspective view showing a cooperative sectionfor the guide element of Fig. 5. l

In the drawing, Fig. 1 illustrates by wayof example, one possible designof display structure embodying the present invention. The overall designis subject to alteration and modification in many ways, as it willdepend largely upon. personal taste and environment, as well as thepurpose for which the display may be intended. It should be clearlyunderstood, therefore, that the mechanical features of the invention areby no means to be dependent upon or limited by the 2 l particularoverall design of'the display, since the design disclosed by the drawingis merely illustrative or suggestive incharacter. The invention residesin the mechanical elements employed for retaining theindicia-bearinguinserts, which may be inthe form of name plates,'forexample.

Referring to the drawing, 8 indicates-anysuitable form of backgroundorframe for the display structure, and might for the purpose ofillustration consist of a slab of stone,concrete, metal or otheracceptable material having a rectangular recess in its-forward face toreceive the constituent elements of the display structure. The recessmentioned appears upon Fig. 2, at the location 9, where a putty orcaulking compound is applied for sealing in the display structure.

At I0 is indicated aflat'backing panel of metal or other suitablematerial, which provides a smooth surface upon the forward face of therecess portion of the frame orbackground. The backing panel maycoversubstantially the entire face of the recess, as shown in Fig. 2. Bypreference, however, the loweredge'ofthe backing panel terminates at l2,so that the back flange l3 of a lower support rail l4 might rest againstthe face of support8 in'the plane. of the back panel. Flange l3 extendssubstantially the full length of the lower rail, and cooperates with oneleg [-5 of the rail to furnisha' shelf l6 upon which a stack of insertsmay rest, in edgewise contact as shown. The inserts, which carry namesor other indicia, are indicated generally by the character IT. The lowerleg l8 ofrail I4 abuts the face of the recess, andmay be puttied orcaulked into the recess as indicated at l9. l

The lower rail l4 may be fixed to the supporting member 8 in anysuitablemanner, such as by means of screws, bolts, nails or other fasteners 20extending through perforations H of the rail at intervalsalong itslength. In the event that the supporting structure 8' is of a concreteor other monolithic construction, the lower rail might be cast in placeand secured in that manner, rather than with the use of fasteners, Aswill be understood, the monolithic material in a plastic state mightthen bepoured so as to enter the hollow back of the lower rail to key itin position.

All of' the indicia-bearin'g inserts or name plates I! are of the samelength, and may be stacked edgewise upon one another with their backsagainst the backing panel. Each insert may consist of a rectangularplate having a plane forward face or surface bearing the desiredindicia. The upperedge 2| ofeach insert is pref;-

erably plain and straight, so that it may be retained behind a forwardlyand downwardly ex tended ofi'set flange 22 of a superposed insert. As isplainly indicated upon Fig. 2, the offset flange 22 extends forwardl ofthe insert, and then downwardly, along substantially the full length ofthe insert, so as to. serve as a key or lock for retaining the upperedge of a subjacent insert. This results in a neat andeffectivewaterproof joint between adjacent inserts. The offset flanges22 perform the function of drip shields preventing entry of water andforeign matter to the rear of the inserts orname plates.

In effect, the offset flange 22 furnishes a longitudinal seat rearwardlythereof, upon which may rest the upper edge of a subjacent insert; Withthe backing panel Ill retaining -all of the indiciabearing inserts orname plates in a common plane, the inserts or name plates may thusly bestacked upon one another edgewise, the lower insert resting 'upon' theshelf l6 of the lower sup'portrail; or upona dummy insertsuch as 23.

Attention is now directed to the series of upright retaining meansindicated at 24, each of which p'erforms the. function 'of overlappingand retaining 'the'marginal' end portions of all of the inserts o'rname'plates; Said retaining means are disposed 'substantiallyat rightangles to the lower rail, and-are spaced apart a distance ap proximatingthe length of the inserts. These upright retaining members preferablyare made in two parts, one being the insert retaining base stzip'indicated at 25 of Fig. 5, and the other being the insert retainingflange strip 26 of Fig. 6. Thebase strip "25 includes aforward face 2?upon which are "formed longitudinal ribs 2e spaced :apart and shaped tofurnish between thema do'vetailslot or groove 29'. The rear face 30' of{the base strip is adapted to .rest. flatly against the backing panelLIB, and will be fixed thereto in any suitable manner, as bymeans offasteners projecting through the backing panel aridinto suitableapertures '3l formed in the base-strip at intervals along its length.The

thickness of the base strip,'excluding the height offthe ribs-28 formedthereon, approximates the overall' thickness of an insert l1, and the.opposite-longitudinal edges 32 provide steps or abutments for the endsof .theinserts.

After the'bas'e strip 25 has been properly applied to the backin panelIll, an insert retaining flange strip.26 is appliedthereto by slidingthe -flange-strip longitudinally of the base strip, With'the dovetailedtenon or tongue 33 snugly received in the dovetailslot 29 of the basestrip. The side flanges or-wings 34 of the strip 26 are sufficientlyextended beyond the longitudinal side-edges of the base strip, 'tooverlie the end marginal portions of the inserts. Whenever necessary.the insert retaining flange strip 26 may he slid lengthwise of the basestripand removed bodily therefromyhowever, as will be explained-later,it is not necessary to remove the flange strip 26 for the mere purposeof substitutingf addingor replacing some :or all of the nameplatesoriins'e'rts H.

To further explain the removal or addition of name plates, it may benoted that the upright retaining means indicated generally by thecharacter 24, are all of the same length, and each extends upwardly tovcontact the lower edges 35 of a capping rail 36. The width of thecapping rail approximates, or may slightly exceed the width'of anynameplate or insert H, so'that upon bodily removal ofithe capping :railfrom the as.-

sembly, the name plates or inserts may be elevated between adjacentuprights 2 i and removed bodily through the space normally occupied bythe upper capping rail 36. The upper capping rail may easil be withdrawnfrom its Fig. 2 position, by removing the fastener or fasteners 31 andthe holding lugs 38, therebyproviding an open end for .the channelsbetween the adjacent uprights 24, and through which open end the insertsmay be bodily removed, one after another.

With further reference to the capping rail, attention is directed toFig. 4 showing the legs 39 and it adapted to rest against the backingpanel Iii. The lower leg ii} is spaced from the lower edge 35, therebyto provide a shoulder or seat 4| which, as shown in Fig. 2, overlies theupper longitudinal edge of a name plate or insert H, with the result ofkeying or locking the insert in place. The character 42 of Fig. 4indicates "a perforation through which a fastener such 'as 31 mayextend, in the assembled condition of the display structure.

The lower ends of the upright retaining means indicated generally at 23, will preferably rest upon the shelf it of the lower rail, and may beoverhung by the lower removable lugs 43, which maybe held in place byfasteners 20 (Fig. 2). As indicated by Fig. -1, the insert retainingflange strips 24 located at opposite ends of the display structure, mayhaveone wing 34 removed in order to conserve space and material, or toenhance the appearance of the finished'assembly. Intermediate retainingelements 24, however, require both wings 3:3 in order that the nameplates or inserts at opposite sides thereof may be effectively keyed orlocked in position.

As waslpreviously explained herein, any number "of intermediate uprightretaining elements 24 might enter into the assembly, depending upon thenumber of columns of nameiplates constituting the display. For example,if the display consists offlve vertical columns of-name plates, therewill be'four intermediate retaining means suchas v24 located between theeXtieme ends of the display. Itmay be noted also that the number of nameplates or inserts comprising a vertical col- .umn, will depend upon theheight of the backing panel and the length of the upright retainingmeans 24. Theseifactors can be altered by merely dimensioning the partsto proper length, the elements 25 and 26 shownin Figs. 5 and 6 beingreadily susceptible to cutting at any length. Whereas Fig. 1 ofthedrawing shows eight name plates'or inserts constituting a column, thenumber thereof may be greatly increased by merely providing thenecessary area of backing panel and furnishing base and flange stripscorresponding to Figs. 5 and 6, cut to the proper length foraccommodating :the desired number of inserts or name plates. Similarly,whereas the drawing shows but one central or intermediate retainingmeans Z4,-with two columns of name plates or inserts, the number ofcolumns and retaining means may be increased indeterminately or within.the limits of the supporting or background structure.

From the foregoing it should readily beunderstood that the displaystructure of the present invention maybe easily manipulated for thee):-change or addition of inserts or name plates, even though the" insertsor name plates are normallyeffectively keyed together to preventunauthorized removal. The entire structure is ldesigned for: flexibilityof use, and is waterproof as lwell as foolproof. It is adapted,moreover, for

interior-or outdoor use, and may be applied to v durability andweathering qualities.

It is to be understood that various modifica- 'tions' and changes may bemade in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the-appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1 A display structure comprising in combination, a series ofindividually freely displaceable indicia-bearing inserts of equallength, means for supporting said inserts in edge to edge contact toforms. plurality of adjacent vertical columns, saidsupporting meansproviding access openings atthe' heads of the columns for the removaland replacement of inserts one by one in succession, a displaceablecapping rail common to all said columns for closing said openingsprecluding unauthorized removal of the inserts, and overlapping means onall the inserts and the capping rail, toclose the spaces therebetweenand preelude passage of foreign matter past the separable inserts to therear thereof.

" 2. A display structure comprising in combination, a series ofindividually freely displaceable indicia-bearing inserts of equallength, means forsupporting said inserts in edge to edge contact to forma plurality of adjacent vertical columns, said supporting meansproviding access openings at the heads of the columns for the removaland replacement of inserts one by one in succession, a displaceablecapping rail common to all said columns for closing said openingspreeluding unauthorized removal of the inserts, and overlapping means onall the inserts and the capping rail, to close the spaces therebetweenand preclude passage of foreign matter past the inserts to the rearthereof, said overlapping means being outwardly and downwardly directedto serve as individual drip shields overlying the upper edges of theseparable inserts.

3. A display structure comprising in combination, a backing panel, alower support rail extending along one edge of the panel, and a cappingrail extending along an opposite edge of the panel, means for removablyfixing the capping rail relative to the panel, a series ofindiciabearing inserts of common length for flatwise placement againstthe backin panel with the inserts stacked edgewise in column formation,a series of upright insert retaining means, each comprising a fixed basestrip and a superposed flange strip mortised together, said retainingmeans being spaced apart lengthwise of the column of inserts at adistance approximating the length of th inserts, said flange stripincluding extending wings to overlie the end margins of the inserts andthereby preclude lateral movement of the inserts away from the backingpanel, the wings being slightly spaced from the insert margins for freelateral shifting of the inserts lengthwise of the columns, removal of thcapping rail serving to open the upper ends of the columns for thereplacement and addition of inserts.

4. A display structure comprising in combination, a backing panel, alower support rail extending along one edge of the panel, and a cappingrail extending along an opposite edge of the panel, means for removablyfixing, the capping rail relative to the panel, a series of indicia--bearing inserts of common length for fiatwise placement against thebacking panel with the inserts stacked edgewise in column formation, aseries of upright insert retaining means, each comprising a fixed basestrip and a superposed flange strip mortised together, said retainingmeans placed apart lengthwise of the column of inserts at a distanceapproximating the length of the inserts, said flange strip includingextending wings to overlie the end margins of the inserts and therebypreclude lateral, movement of the inserts away from the backing panel,the wings beingslightly spaced from the insert margins for free lateralshifting of' the inserts lengthwise of the columns, removal of thecapping rail serving to open the upper ends of the columns for thereplacement and addition of inserts, said inserts each includingcooperative overlapping edges between the end margins thereof for keyingthe inserts together and maintaining a co planar relationship thereof insubstantial parallelism with the backing panel.

5. A display structure comprising in combination, a backing panel, alower support rail extending along one edge of the panel, and a cappingrail extending along an opposite edge of the panel, means for removablyfixing the capping rail relative to the panel, a series ofindiciabearing inserts of common length for flatwise placement againstthe backing panel with the inserts stacked edgewise in column formation,and a series of upright insert retaining means each comprising twostrips, one being a base strip fixed to the backing panel, and the otherbeing a covering strip including wings to overlie the end margin of theinserts, and cooperative interengaging slide means on said strips.

6. A display structure comprising in combination, a backing panel, alower support rail extending along one edge of the panel, and a cappingrail extending along an opposite edge of the panel, means for removablyfixing the cap-- pingrail relative to the panel, a series ofindiciabearing inserts of common length for fiatwise placement againstthe backing panel with the inserts stacked edgewisein column formation,and a series of upright insert retaining means each comprising twostrips, one being a base strip fixed to the backing panel, and the otherbeing a covering strip including wings to overlie the end margin of theinserts, cooperative interengaging slide means on said strips, saidstrips abutting endwise the support rail and the capping rail topreclude relative shifting of the strips longitudinally.

7. A display structure comprising in combination, an upright slab ofmonolithic material recessed in one face thereof, a lower support railfitted Within the recessof the slab and having an upwardly extendedflange thereon resting against the slab in flatwise contact, a shelf onsaid rail adjacent to the flange thereof, a series of individualindicia-bearing plates of common length disposed in a plane parallel tothe slab,

, with opposite edges of the plates in contact to form an uprightcolumn, the lowermost plate of the column resting upon the shelf of thesupport im-means pounding the side edges of th'e column "ofplates;-saidmeans comprising a plurality of upright strips having laterallyextended wings providing vertical guides overlying the marginal ends ofthe indicia-bearing plates, said plates being slidable relative to theguides lengthwise of the column of plates, and a top capping railremovably fixed relative to the slab above the uppermostindicia-ibearing plate, for normally precluding shifting of the platesfrom the guides aforesaid.

8, A display-structure comprising in combination, an upright slab ofmonolithic material recessed in one face thereof, a lower support railfitted within the recess of the slab and having an upwardly extendedflange thereon resting against the'slot in flatwise contact, a shelf onsaid rail adjacent to the flange thereof, a series of individualindicia-bearing plates of common length disposed in a plane parallel tothe slab, with opposite edges of the plates in contact to form anupright column, the lowermost plate of the column resting upon the shelfofthe support rail, means bounding the side edges of the column ofplates, said means comprising a plurality of upright strips havinglaterally extended wings providing vertical guides overlying themarginal ends of the indicia-be'aring plates, said plates being slidablerelative to the guides lengthwise of the column of plates, a top cappingrail removably fixed relative .to the slab above the uppermostindicia-bearing plate, for normally vprecluding hifting of the platesfrom the guides aforesaid, and flange means on the capping rail and eachplate, for effecting a series of lap joints and drip shields precludingentry of foreign matter between the plates.

*9. A display structure comprising in combination, a backing panel, alower support rail extending along one edge of the panel, and a cappingrail extending along an opposite edge of the panel, means for removablyfixing the capping rail relative to the panel, a series ofindicia-bearing insorts of common length for flatwise placement againstthe backing panel with the inserts stacked edgewisein column formation,a series of upright insert retaining means, each comprising a fixed basestrip having asuperposed flange thereon, said retaining means beingspaced apart lengthwise of the inserts at a distance approximating thelength of the inserts, the flanges thereof providing extending wings tooverlie the end margins of the inserts and thereby preclude lateralmovement of the inserts away from the backing panel,

the wings being slightly spaced zin'semt of common length forflatwiseplacementiagalnst the backing panel with theinserts-stackededger wise'in column formation, each :insert having 'anupper straight edge, anda loweredge includingsa depending flange formedfrom the-material oithe insert and onset outwardly a'distance' apprcxismating the thickness of the insert-"to -previdem longitudinal seat, theseat of one insert accommodating the-upper edge of a subi-acent insert,withthe inserts in coplanar relationship and the flange of-said oneinsert depending over. theiouter facecf the subjacent insent,-a seriesofruprlg'ht insert retaining means, eachcomprising ,a :fixed base'striphaving a'superposedfiange thereon, said retaining means beingspaced-apart lengthwise of the inserts ata distance approximatingthelength of the inserts, the flanges thereof'providingextending wings tooverlie the end marginsiof them.- serts and thereby precludelateralmovement of the inserts away from the backing ,paneLuthe Wingsbeing slightly spaced from ithe insent' mar..- gins for free lateralshifting of. the insertsilengthrwise of the columns removalcithe-capping: rail serving to open the upper en-ds of 'the.-columns-iorthe individual replacement and additionnof iinserts.

WILLIAM C; GRUENEBERG WILLARD-G.,GR,UENEBERG..

' REFERENCES-CITED The following references'are'of recordrinrtheflleof-thispatentr g 620,713 France Q Jan. 24,1927

